NMPA & NSAI Present Case to CRB

The NMPA and NSAI will begin presenting their case to the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) on March 8th to determine the new mechanical royalty rates for interactive streaming services under section 115 of the US Copyright Law. The DSP interests, represented in the proceedings by Spotify, Pandora, Apple, Google and Amazon, will deliver opposition in proposals that seek to decrease the current rates. During the trial the CRB will hear evidence and arguments to determine mechanical royalty rates and terms by the end of the year to take effect from 2018 until 2022.

The AIMP fully supports the NMPA and NSAI efforts before the CRB. As the balance of our business has shifted, streaming mechanical royalties should make up a significant portion of songwriter and publisher income. It is vital that the CRB implements a fair and transparent rate in order to support the future of our songwriters. DSPs have created tremendous value for themselves in their use of copyrighted works of independent and major songwriters alike, while paying out only a small fraction of their earnings to those publishers and songwriters. It is imperative that all publishers and songwriters understand the importance of these proceedings as well as advocate for transparent and equitable royalty rates from the CRB.

Please help us support our interests in these proceedings by sending us quotes from your songwriters as to how they have been affected by the shift in music consumption to interactive streaming services and the impact of the current mechanical royalty rates. We will post these quotes sporadically during the ongoing trial on social media – linking to the NMPA, your songwriters and more.